Means for discharging grain and similar materials from cars or other containers



A. CAMPBELL. MEANS FOR DISCHARGING GRAIN AND SIMILAR MATERIALS FROM CARS0R OTHER CONTAINERS. APPLICATION FILED :LILY |919.

u citizen of the United cago, inthe county UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ARGYLE CAMPBELL, OE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ENTERPRISE RAILWAYEQUIPMENT COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR DISCHARGING GRAIN To all whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I ARGYLE CAMPBELL, a

tates, residing at Chiof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a'certain new and useful Improvement in Means for Discharging Grain andSimilar Materials from Cars or other Containers, of which the followingis a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being hadtol the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specilication.

My invention relates to improvements in means. for discharging grain andsimilar materials from cars or other containers.

As is well known, it is customary for railroads to transport grain andother like bulk materials in ordinary box cars, the closure for the sidedoors being most frequently formed by means of planks nailed to the doorposts. Such cars inthe grain service are not entirely satisfactory forthe reason that in unloading cars it is necessary to chop away some ofthe planks with the result that chips are mingled with the grain andsome of the planks are always los't each time the car is unloaded.

While many experiments have been attempted to provide satisfactory meansfor' discharging grain and likematerials from ordinary box cars, thesame have not proven entirely satisfactory, and the expense of providingsuch carsy with discharge hoppers of usual construction is such that therailroads ordinarily cannot afford the same. As vis well known, it isnecessary, in unloading cars filled with grain and the like, to relievethe pressure behind the side door opening closure before the closurescan be removed or shifted if the same are permanently attached to thecar.

One obj ect of myinvention is to provide a simple arrangement which maybe applied to either new or old box cars to adapt them for the carryingof grain and other materials carried in bulk, and without the necessityof incorporating any radicaland expensive changes in the car.

Another obj ect of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensivedischarge chute which may be applied to the side walls of a box caradjacent the usual side door openings and thereby permit the removal ofa suiiicient amount of grain from behind the Specification of LettersPatent.

Application med July 5, 1919. serial No. 308,737.

ments: a discharge chute proper,

AND SIMILAR MATERIALS rItolvI cANs-o OTHER.

CONTAINERS.

'Patented June I, 1920.

sidedoor opening closures to thereby facilitate unloading of the cars.

Another object of my invention is to provide a relatively small andinexpenslve grain-discharging chute which may be employed 1n conjunctionwith certain types of grain doors employed on some railway cars, whichdischarge chute will act as a relief door or auxiliary door for the maingrain door.

v The invention further consists in the improvements in the parts anddevices and in the novel combinations of the parts and devices hereinshown, described and made the subject matter of claim.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is anelevational view of a portion of a side of a box car taken at the centerof the car opposite the usual side door opening and illustrating myimprovements in connection therewith. In said figure, two applicationsof my improvements are shown, the full lines indicating my imof the carand the dotted lines indicating the improvement applied to a grain door,in which latter instance my improvements act as a relief or auxiliarydoor for the grain door. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional viewtaken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. And Fig. 3 is ahorizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,and reproduced upon an enlarged scale.

In said drawing, 10 denotes the side wall of a box car of usualconstruction, said car having the usual side doorv openings indi-y catedby the reference 11. The, floor of the car is indicated by thereferencel 12, and 13 indicates a side sill of the car.

Referring to the constru tion illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and the fullline illustration 1n Fig. 1, my improved discharging arrangementcomprises, broadly, thev following eleindicated by the reference A, adoor or cover, indicated by the-reference B, and a lever, C.

The chute proper A, as shown, is preferably in the form of a casting andhas upper and lower outwardly and downwardly extended Walls 14l and 15and vertical side walls 16--16. At its outer end the member A is formedwith a relatively wide flange 17 adapted to lie' against, or becountersunk means-such as bolts',

into, the outer boards 18 of the carwall and be secured to the car wallby any suitable 19%19, extending through said flange and through thewall of the car, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The thickness, horizontally, of the chute proper A is made such that theinner edge 20 thereof will lie flush with the inner boards 2l of the carwall so as to thereby avoid any undesirable projections on the interiorof the car.V At its outer and lower end, the chute proper A is providedwith a relatively narrow flange 22 extending all around the chuteproper' and defining the exit or discharge mouth thereof. Said flange22, as clearly shown in the drawing, projects beyond the iiange 17.

he cover B is also lpreferably in the form of a casting and of asuitable size to close the exit mouth of the chute A. Said cover or doorB haspreferably integrally formed therewith hinge lugs, indicated at 23,and the casting A has corresponding hinge lugs 24, so that the cover Bmay be pivotally mounted on its bottom edge by means of the hinge pin25.

T e cover B is also provided with an inwardly extending flange'26 aroundall edges thereof an/d so proportioned as to snugly lit over the flange22 of the member A. In 1 this way, a grain seal is provided wheneverthecover is in closed position.

The lever C is pivotally mounted on a headed pin or bolt 27 mounted in aboss 28 .preferablyformed integrally with the chute member A. Said leverC 1s provided with a cam face 29 'adapted to coperate with thecorresponding cam rib 30 formed on the outer face of the cover orclosure B. The cams 29 and 30 are so formed that as the lever C is swungclockwise to the position shown in the drawings, the cover B will beforced securely against the chute proper A.

o retain the lever C in proper position when the cover B is closed, themember A is preferably provided'with an outwardly extended bracket 3lhaving an upstanding arm 32 behind which vthe lever C is adapted toengage when the latter reaches its position for locking the cover B.Further, to prevent tampering with the discharging device, the bracket31 and the lever C are proto manufacture, may be readily applied to oldbox cars now in service at very small expense, the only expense involvedbeing4 that of the labor required to cut out the necessary opening inthe car walls and bolt my device in place. Old box cars thus equippedwith my device have a much greater usefulness than the ordinary boxcar;the expense of so equipping box cars is almost inconsequential; andthere is no excessive -dead weight or unproductive load added to thecar.

Referring to .the'construction indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, thedischarging device-is-the same in all respects as that hereinbeforedescribed in detail, except that it is applied to a main grain doorindicated by the reference D. The latter may be of any Well knowndesign, such-for instance-as those which slide upwardly vertically onthe inner face of the car wall for a limited distance and are then swungabout pivots so that the door is hooked in inoperative position near theroof of the car.

Although I have hereinv shown and described what I now consider thepreferred manner of carrying out the invention, the same is merelyillustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that comewithin the scope of the claims appended hereto.

claim:

also be noted that my construction,l in addition to being relativelyinexpensive` 1. In a box carhaving the usual side walls and side dooropenings and adapted for the carrying of grain, means for dischargingpart of a grain load through a side wall of the car, said meanscomprising: a chute located near the floor of the car and adjacent oneside of a side door opening, a closure for the outer end of the chute,and means for locking lthe closure in closed position, said chuteextending through the Side wall of the carin adownward direction fromthe inner side to the outer side of the wall, said chute having anintegral flange by which the chute is adapted to be fastened to the sidewall of the car, said closure and lower `outer end of the chutecoperating to form a grain seal when locked position.

2. In a device of the character a chute having a flange extendingtherefrom and by which the chute is adapted to be secured to al wall, adoor pivotally attached to said chute at its discharge end, and a lever,said lever being pivotallyl attached to the chute lever adapted to swingin -a plane substantially parallel to the door when the latter is theclosure is in described," i

opposite side of the door to that where the lever is pivotally attachedvand into which l the lever is adapted to enter, said lever cooperatingwith the door to hold the latter in tight closed position when saidlever is swung to enter said bracket.

3. In a device of the character described,

a chute, a flange for attachment extended therefrom, a door pivoted tosaid chute, and a lever, the flange being 'provided with a boss and witha bracket, the lever being pivoted to the boss and adapted to enter saidbracket, the door being provided with a camming face engaged by saidleverto force the door into tight closure of the chute.

4. in a box car having the usual side walls and side dooropenings andadapted for the carrying of grain, meansfor discharging part of a grainload through the side wall of the car, said means comprising, a chutelocated near the oor vof the car and' adjav cent one side of the sidedoor opening, a closure for the outer end of the chute and means forlocking the closure in closed position, said chute extending through theside Wall of the car in a downward direction from the inner side to the'outer side of the Wall and having a flange at its outer portion byWhicli the chute is adapted to be secured tothe side wall of the car,said closure and outer end of the chute cooperating to form a grain sealwhen the closure is in locked closed position.

5. In a-device of the character described, a chute having a flange Jforattachment extended therefrom, a door pivotally attached to said chute,and a lever, said lever being pivotally attached to said flange of thechute at one side of the door', said flange having a bracket formedintegrally therewith on the opposite side of the door into which saidlever is adapted to enter, the outer face of the door and the lever co-`operating to force the door to tight grainsealed position when saidlever lis entered within-the said bracket.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 14th day of June, 1919.

ARGrYLEl CAMPBELL. Witness:

META SCHMIDT.

